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Louise Grant (Earth-616)
| Identity = Secret | Affiliation = formerly , , , ; former partner of She-Hulk | Relatives = Walter Charles Grant (father, deceased); Mark Mason (husband, deceased); Wanda Louise Mason (daughter); Earl Paynter Mason (son); Henry Mason (uncle-in-law) | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = New York, New York | Gender = Female | Height = 5'2" | Weight = 130 lbs | Eyes = Blue | Hair = Blonde | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = American | MaritalStatus = Widowed | Occupation = Executive secretary of N.Y.C. D.A. Blake Tower; formerly adventurer | Education = High school graduate | Origin = Human | PlaceOfBirth = Hoboken, New Jersey | Creators = Stan Lee; Syd Shores | First = All-Select Comics #11 | HistoryText = Origins Louise Grant was a secretary to O.S.S. agent Mark Mason, who ran a private detective agency. Enamored with her boss and wanting to help him break cases, she surreptitiously donned a floor-length red evening gown, black domino mask, and high heels, and ventured out at night fighting crime as the costumed crime-fighter the Blonde Phantom. Mark developed a romantic interest in the Blonde Phantom, but continued to not notice Louise, apparently oblivious to the fact that they were both the same woman. 1946 In their earliest recorded case, the Blonde Phantom and Mark Mason were investigating diplomat Signore Korte and his alleged ties to international spies and his desire to steal the United States' plans for the atomic bomb. Although they foiled Korte's plot to obtain the plans, they could not get the evidence needed to implicate him in the attempted theft. Later, the pair travelled to South America in order to prevent a chemical weapon created by escaped Nazi scientist Heinz Rheint from falling into the hands of spies seeking to use it against the United States and its allies. Returning to the Untied States, the Blonde Phantom and Mark Mason discovered a plot by Korte's agent False Face to steal plans for a radio control atomic bomb, while at the same time redirecting the only prototype on a course to New York City, hoping that the United States would abandon further development then sell the plans to an enemy nation. False Face took the place of Colonel Ryder, and while the Blonde Phantom went to rescue the real Colonel, she arrived back at the base and revealed the spy. However, she was too late to stop him from loading Mark into the missile and launch it. Louise flew after the rocket and rescued Mark, who had programmed the missile back to its original target, where it exploded harmlessly. The Blonde Phantom also assisted Mark in investigating how spies were getting a hold of sensitive government information. The Blonde Phantom soon uncovered a secret spy cell working out of La Glamour beauty parlour and were using hypnosis to get secrets from the wives of high ranking military officials. The Blonde Phantom lured the spies into a trap, but their leader died of poisoning before he could reveal Signor Korte as their employer. 1947 With the dissolution of the O.S.S., Mark started up his own private detective agency, and continued employing Louise as his secretary. As the Blonde Phantom, Louise accompanied Mark on a voyage to England to return jewels that were gifted to George Washington by British loyalists. The jewels were stolen by an descendant of the loyalists calling himself the Redcoat, but the Blonde Phantom and Mark traced him to his ancestors tomb, where the villain fell to his death, and recovered the stolen jewels. Returning to the United States, Blonde Phantom followed Mark to Hollywood to investigate threats against the life of actor Ken Chalmers, who is the star in a remake of the film Mister Stranger. Although they fail to stop Chalmers from being killed, the capture the murderer Edgar Elliot, the lead actor in the original Mister Stranger who sought to keep his legacy untarnished. Later, she assists Mark on his investigation of threats toward Elmo Lang, who had purchased what he believed to be Castle Frankenstein and was being threatened by a supposed ancestor who called himself Baron Frankenstein. Discovering that the Baron merely was seeking his ancestor's fortune, Blonde Phantom uncovered it within Frankenstein's crypt and turned it over to the brute, who then left the Lang family alone. With money at Mark's detective agency running out, Mark was forced to briefly lay off Louise and take on a shady case for a former con named Ox, who wished to find his old girl Gloria Vance. Louise decided to do her own detective work and got a job as a dancer at the club where Gloria used to work. Managing to track Gloria down, Louise confronted her as the Blonde Phantom. Things took a tragic turn when Mark and Ox showed up. Gloria, not wishing to be found, fatally shot Ox who then strangled her to death. However, Gloria's widowed husband, learning that his deceased wife only wanted him for money, paid Mark generously for his services, which allowed him to hire Louise back onto her job. Shortly thereafter, Mark was framed for the murder of crooked talent agent Bret "Chiseler" Hogan. The Blonde Phantom helped clear Mark's name by exposing the real killer, failed theater producer Colonel Bella, who was working with Hogan to hire actresses to trick wealthy men from buying "stolen" works of art in Mexico and then robbing them blind. Louise exposed a plot by Porky Potter and his gang from stealing diamonds from the visiting "president" of Tibet, foiling the plot which ended in Porky's death. On the trail of criminal magicians Abra and Cadabra, Louise took time off from work to join J.B. Gloop's competing magic show to draw the criminals out. When Gloop's show proved more popular, the two rival magicians tried to rob the box office safe and were captured by the Blonde Phantom. 1948 In 1948, Louise continued to operate as the Blonde Phantom, covering cases from the dangerous to the mundane. First she investigated thefts at modelings jobs where the prime suspects were the models employed by Carlton Talent Agency. She uncovered that Linda Water and her minion Stillface were committing the thefts in order to ruin the agency. Later, the Blonde Phantom exposed the Sultan of Bangook's plot to steal the fortunes of wealthy American women. Next, the Blonde Phantom worked with Mark Mason to investigate the strange thefts around ventriloquist Omar and his Dummy, the Dummy turning out to be a midget in disguise. The Blonde Phantom also assisted Mark Mason in clearing the name of Joe Brand for the murder of Cecily Harding and captured the real killer, Van Glint. In her civilian identity, Louise Grant was finally asked out on a date by Mark Mason, who invited to join him at a dance. However, when Louise arrived, Mark snubbed her in favor of someone else. To teach Mark as lesson, Louise changed into the Blonde Phantom and danced with every man in the club except for Mark and left him begging on his knees when she left. Later, the Blonde Phantom assisted officer Jack Bertelli steer a young boy named Jimmy away from a life of crime. Soon after, the Blonde Phantom assisted young would-be actress Molly Day get a part in Oscar Malloy's new play "Music Time". However, when Malloy is murdered, the Blonde Phantom captures the killer, the play's lead actress Miss Armanda. With the murder solved, the Blonde Phantom got Mark Mason to use his connections in the theater world to get Molly a part. When Dick Wayne is accused of murdering wealthy Reginald Daley, the Blonde Phantom and Mark Mason help clear his name by exposing Reginald's own wife as the killer, and that she had murdered her husband in order to keep her gambling debts a secret. Blonde Phantom and Mark Mason were next pursued by two playwrights looking to use their experience to come up with the perfect mystery. However, when one of the playwrights uses the idea to eliminate the lead actress, Jackie Scott, to stop her from continuing to blackmail him, the Blonde Phantom exposes the murderer and has him arrested. Blonde Phantom is next approached by Susan English and helps her prevent her fiancée from painting a counterfeit painting for Doris Montagne. Later, she prevents a man named Enrico from ruining his former partner's opera. After saving the life of scientist Ignatius Fowler, the Blonde Phantom laughs at the man when he suddenly falls in love with her and asks for her hand in marriage. Angered at this rejection, Fowler then created a chemical that caused all the men on Earth to enter a coma-like state. He then informed the women of Earth that he would only restore them to normal if the Blonde Phantom agreed to marry him. The Blonde Phantom used her female charms into tricking Fowler into showing her the antidote which she then unleashed, curing all the men on Earth and leading to Fowler's arrest. When investigating a series of murders apparently inspired by stories from Ghastly Detective Magazine, the Blonde Phantom saves the publisher of the magazine and his daughter from the lead writer who had developed multiple personality disorder and was acting out the stories he had written. When attending a screening of a Blonde Phantom movie with Mark Mason, Louise spotted that they are being followed by Tooth-Pick Twilliger and Eight-Ball Olsen, two crooks that Mark and the Blonde Phantom previously captured. The two crooks try to assassinate Mark in the theatre, but the Louise managed to change into the Blonde Phantom and capture the crooks before they could seriously hurt him. Later, the Blonde Phantom discovers that her musical jewelry box was the hiding place for a necklace stolen by Johnny Drago years ago. Blonde Phantom helps Drago, now a reformed convict, from being eliminated too and exposes that the judge who sent Drago to prison was seeking to obtain the necklace for himself. Louise Grant almost had her real identity exposed when she was approached by Jonathan Littleton, a man claiming to be a psychologist who had discovered her secret identity. Littleton then began a crime spree and threatened to reveal Blonde Phantom's secret identity if she interfered. Deciding to take the risk, the Blonde Phantom apprehended Littleton. As it turned out, Littleton was actually an escapee from a mental institution and when he attempted to reveal the Blonde Phantom's true identity, nobody believed him. Blonde Phantom next cleared the name of Jimmy Sullivan of murder, capturing the true killers Big Dan and Pinkey Desmond. Shortly after this, the Blonde Phantom was framed for crimes thanks to the machinations of her old foe Dr. Demise, who used her plastic surgery skills to alter her former cellmate Dora Scott to resemble the Phantom. With the help of Mark Mason, the Blonde Phantom captured her impostor and Dr. Demise, clearing the Blonde Phantom's name. During her manhunt for Nick Symes, the Blonde Phantom also assisted the Harry Charles Band to land a gig that finally gets them a record deal. While investigating the theft of a circus payroll, the Blonde Phantom and Mark Mason help clear Jerry -- son of Jeepo the Clown -- of the crime, exposing that he was framed by the circus barker. Blonde Phantom next investigated why washed-up vaudeville actor H.C. Meadows was hired to try a vaudeville revival in a rundown theatre and discovered that it was a cover for a bank robbery. Foiling the robbery, the Blonde Phantom then turned over the reward money to Meadows to fund a legitimate production. Soon after this, the Blonde Phantom assisted pilot Tom Clements get over his fear of crashing by getting him to test pilot a new plane being manufactured by the Trans-American Clipper Company. Later, the Blonde Phantom interrupts a mock trial for Mark's uncle, retired Judge Henry Mason, by what appeared to be various criminals that the judge sent to prison. It turned out to be a prank being thrown by Mark and his colleagues. After, the Blonde Phantom attempted to apprehend the Springer after he terrorized the Hobnob Toy Company for refusing to buy his spring shoe invention. Although the Blonde Phantom captured the Springer, charges against him were dropped when the Hobnob Toy Company found a public demand for the invention and purchased it from the Springer. The Blonde Phantom was more successful in apprehending Morton Marion Maximilian Muse, a hypnotist who had forced a young artist to paint abstract paintings, which he then sold to patrons of his art gallery using the selfsame hypnotic abilities. While participating in a radio charity, the Blonde Phantom's reputation is tarnished when an orphan girl is forced to speak badly of the Blonde Phantom over the radio airwaves by some crooks looking to ruin the heroine's popularity. The Blonde Phantom got to the bottom of the scheme and exposed the crooks and repaired her damaged name. As 1948 came to a close, the Blonde Phantom accepted a challenge from the Spoiler, a criminal who made his career embarrassing crime-fighters. With the help of Mark Mason, the Blonde Phantom managed to defeat the Spoiler. 1949 At the start of 1949, Louise and Mark were invited along with other notable public figures to a scientific exhibition being put on by Professor Kall. This turned out to be a trap, as Kall was a time traveler from the 30th century of Earth-49121 who kidnapped all the attendees to be part of a 20th century zoo in his native time. Louise changed into the Blonde Phantom and escaped the zoo and, learning that none of the people of this era had free will of their own, hypnotized their leader, his Excellency and forced him to return her and the other captives to their own time. Louise brought his Excellency back to their own era as well, wiping his mind with amnesia so he could not threaten them again. Accompanying Mark to California to investigate the hauntings at Hawking's Lake, Louise -- as the Blonde Phantom -- soon uncovered that the "ghost" was really property manager Prunella Hawkins who was trying to scare away potential property buyers to continue her futile attempts at finding gold in the region. Back in New York City, the Blonde Phantom answered a call from Mark Mason to meet her at a nearby warehouse to prevent a crime. Louise went, unaware that this was all a ruse that Mark orchestrated to try and learn the Blonde Phantom's secret identity. Catching the Blonde Phantom unaware, Mark unmasked her and, when confronted with the fact that his secretary was the heroine that he lusted after, Mark instantly believed that Louise was merely posing as the Blonde Phantom so he'd pay attention to her. Louise managed to protect her secret identity and land a date with Mark that very night. Later, Louise was contacted by a painter named Oswald Grimm who sought to paint a picture of the Blonde Phantom. Believing Grimm to be a shady character, the Blonde Phantom recruited artist Vince van Psymithe to accompany her to Grimm's studio. There she learned that Van Psymithe was really a criminal who was arrested previously thanks to Grimm and was bent on revenge. The Blonde Phantom easily subdued Vince and agreed to allow Oswald to paint her. Later, while attending the art gallery where the work was hanging, Louise was horrified to find that her alter-ego's portrait was a hideous abstract work. Soon after, the Blonde Phantom battled the Mole and Father Time. In her last recorded adventure during the 1940s, the Blonde Phantom apprehended Strongo, a circus strong man who was employed by Bing Brother's circus, who attempted to steal the company payroll. 1950s By the late 1950s, Louise had married Mark and had two children, but was also secretly working as a government operative. Her federal I.D. said that she was a systems analyst, but in reality she was tasked with identifying and neutralizing Nazi war criminals and uncovering the plot behind their recent resurgence. To this end, she traveled to Latveria where she ran a honey trap operation on Nazi general Dieter Skul who had been believed dead since the war. When Skul caught Louise eavesdropping, however, the ruse came to an end and he knocked her out of a window and into the moat of his castle, where he believed she died. Surviving the fall, the Blonde Phantom reported back to the American Foreign Service representative in Latveria, Erik Koenig. Realizing that Skul was just the tip of the iceberg of a supposed Nazi plot, Koenig contacted his old friend, Colonel Nick Fury, who traveled to Latveria and was informed of the Blonde Phantom's suspicions. Realizing that the symbol on Skul's medallion was the same one used by the people who had attacked his Avengers back in America, Fury joined the Phantom in searching Hassenstadt for more clues. Checking out a building that was listed in Herr Skul's files, the Blonde Phantom and Fury found the zombified Hollow Men of the late Lord of Death. They were able to blow up the building, killing the Hollow Men, before fleeing the scene. The pair then stole a Latverian fighter jet and proceeded to the African nation of Wakanda, where they were given information detailing Dieter Skul's current whereabouts, as the Wakandans were tracking him for reasons of their own. Howard Stark, visiting Wakanda on an under-the-radar fact-finding mission for the White House, then offered the two operatives his hydrofoil in which to chase Skul. The Phantom and Fury then left for the island nation of Madripoor, but were attacked by the Ubermadchen in the South China Sea. Luckily, the rest of Fury's Avengers arrived just in time to help them capture the Nazi operatives, who are subsequently killed by Sabretooth after revealing what they know. The team then attacked ICON's mansion headquarters in Madripoor, with the Blonde Phantom and Namora capturing the organization's strategist, Innsbruck the Planner. Innsbruck soon revealed that Skul and other Nazi super-operatives were on their way to attack Wakanda in an attempt to pillage their futuristic technology. As a result, the Avengers were able to arrive in time to thwart the former Nazis' plans. The Blonde Phantom knocked out Skul in the ensuing struggle as the Avengers beat ICON's forces before then teleporting to Washington D.C. to face ICON's leader, Geoffrey Sydenham. During this final clash, the Blonde Phantom took down the Spider-Queen as ICON was defeated. As the Avengers each went their separate ways after a job well-done, the Blonde Phantom traveled by train to Los Angeles, accompanied by Victor Creed and Dominic Fortune. Modern Age Louise eventually left crime-fighting and became a housewife. Her husband Mark eventually died of old age, at which time Louise vowed that the same fate wouldn't befall her. Louise worked as a legal secretary for New York District Attorney Blake Tower. Using her influence, Louise had convinced Blake to hire the super-heroine and lawyer Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk). During She-Hulk's short tenure at the District Attorney's office, the two became friends. Louise helped She-Hulk in several cases, and using her quick wits, was instrumental in She-Hulk defeating the villain Stilt-Man. At one point, Louise was kidnapped by the Mole Man and was exposed to a mystic liquid which transformed a person into their innermost self. Ultimately, the liquid rejuvenated Louise to the physique and vitality of a forty-year-old woman, similar to her time as the Blonde Phantom. Later, She-Hulk attempted an Ovoid mind switch with Louise, which instead resulted in a body swap. Louise and She-Hulk had traded physical stature and powers. The switch, however, was short-lived and both returned back to their original states. When Blake Tower informed Mason that their mutual friend Michael Brayden had been murdered, she was shocked. Brayden's second wife was one of her best friends and she tried to comfort her. Amanda Brayden, who was confined to a wheelchair, told of how she could hear her husband being murdered upstairs while being completely helpless to prevent it. Wishing to find Michael's killers, Mason donned her Blonde Phantom costume for the first time in years. After some investigation, the Blonde Phantom ultimately developed a theory about her friend's death. Michael had been killed exactly six years to the day since he was arrested for a DUI in 2003. It turned out that that was the same night that Amanda had been struck by a drunk driver. Mason determined that Amanda sought out Brayden and started a relationship with him in an attempt to get revenge. She had to wait five years after getting married before killing him in order to get his fortune as per their prenuptial agreement. Mason even came to the conclusion that Amanda didn't even need a wheelchair, a notion which was proven when she jumped up to attack the Blonde Phantom, though the super-heroine easily subdued her. Louise's daughter Wanda took up crime-fighting too, under a codename similar to her mother's alter ego, the Phantom Blonde. As a widow, Louise began a romantic relationship with She-Hulk's father, Morris Walters. They lived together and were even planning to get married. | Powers = Louise is a normal human woman with no super powers. However, during the brief body switch with She-Hulk, Louise temporarily gained superhuman strength, stamina, durability, and a regenerative healing factor. | Abilities = Louise is a skilled fighter, an experienced detective, highly athletic, and is seemingly trained in certain martial arts. She has also displayed the ability to see beyond the Fourth Wall. Presumably, this awareness allowed her to age much slower and thus only appeared to be middle-aged by the time she first encountered She-Hulk. | Strength = Louise possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = She-Hulk's Flying Car | Weapons = .45 caliber pistol | Notes = * The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004 under Blonde Phantom says that she occasionally received assignments from a mysterious man called Father Time. | Trivia = * Millie the Model once wore a different "Blonde Phantom" costume to promote a new perfume. * As a young woman, Louise was in love with her boss, Mark Mason. Initially Mark had no interest in Louise, but he did have a crush on her more glamorous alter ego of the Blonde Phantom. After Louise revealed her dual identity, the two eventually married in 1949 and had two children. Mark died in 1986. | Links = * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blonde_Phantom * http://www.reocities.com/nichol_storm/BlondePhantom.html * http://www.reocities.com/jjnevins/phantom2.html }} Category:Advanced Longevity Category:Comic Awareness Category:Athletic Skills Category:Martial Arts Category:Regeneration